Gowanus Locals Not Waiting for Feds to Clean Canal

Local residents aren’t waiting for the official cleanup of the Gowanus Canal. They’re taking matters into their own hands – as much as they can, explains a story in the New York Times, “For Local Residents, a Mission to Clean Up the Gowanus Canal.”

“The Gowanus Canal, one of two federal Environmental Protection Agency ‘superfund’ cleanup sites in New York City, has been the ever-present industrial scourge in the middle of an otherwise desirable, brownstone-filled section of Brooklyn,” according to the story. About 377 million gallons of sewage spill into the canal every year. The sewage might contain anything from human excrement to paint thinner.

Local Eymund Diegel, an urban planner, takes photos of sewage overflow from the air with a camera attached to a kite and maps the flood spots. Then residents plant gardens in strategic locations to absorb the runoff before it reaches the canal. The city, state, and feds also want to eliminate sewage runoff into the canal, but the effort will take millions of dollars and many years. The canal currently functions as a city sewer overflow.

It feels good for residents to reclaim the former industrial wasteland, even if they can’t completely transform it on their own, said the story. “The canal became my backyard,” said Hans Hesselein, who works for a canal-related educational nonprofit, the Gowanus Canal Conservancy. “It’s incredibly empowering. The canal gave me a purpose.”
For Local Residents, a Mission to Clean Up the Gowanus Canal [New York Times]
Pricey Gowanus Cleanup to Take 10+ Years [Brownstoner]
Closing Bell: A Fundraiser for the Gowanus Canal [Brownstoner]
Photo by herczog